Today will be the welcome-back party for Fordham football coach Dave Clawson. He just hopes the dip won’t turn.

Five years removed as offensive coordinator of Villanova, Clawson has steered Fordham to the unthinkable – a Patriot League title and a quarterfinal matchup in the NCAA Division I-AA tournament against the Wildcats (WFUV, 90.7 FM, noon) at Villanova Stadium.

Imagine, just four years ago the Rams bled though an 0-11 record in Clawson’s rookie season.

“Going 0-11 helped us,” said Clawson. “Only the truly dedicated players stayed. All the rats got off the ship. This is for all the guys who stayed.”

While sweet, the Rams (10-2, 6-1) can’t revel in the glory all that long. They face a Villanova squad (10-3, 6-3 Atlantic 10) that has an All-Everything quarterback in Brett Gordon and an offense that averaged 30 points a game.

Gordon (3,717 yards and 28 TDs) was named Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year and is one of three finalist for the Walter Payton Award, given to the most outstanding player in Division I-AA.

“You’re not going to stop [Gordon],” said Clawson. “We just have to make tackles. If he throws a five-yard pass, we have to tackle them right there.”

There is good news, though. Clawson knows Villanova’s offense as well as he knows his own. It’s the same thing.

“It’s basically the same system,” said Clawson. “We kind of look in the mirror with them. We’ll try to have a few wrinkles every now and then.”

The Fordham offense boasts a triple-barreled attack in quarterback Kevin Eakin, running back Kirwin Watson and wide receiver Javarus Dudley. While Eakin is not as accomplished as Gordon, he earned All-Patriot League First Team honors in his first year as a starter. Dudley joined Eakin on the first team, racking up over a 1,000 yards for the second straight year. Watson, though, is the anchor.

Watson, named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year, ran for 1,484 yards and 17 touchdowns.

“They don’t do a lot on defense,” said Watson. “We’re going to try to get a lot of screens and get their linemen moving. They’re a fast defense, but they’re not that big.”